Whether it’s the three-pronged scar or the cybernetic arm, the reaction to Cable’s unveiling has been overly positive, but now that the dust has settled, The Hollywood Reporter has identified one element of that character portrait that was arguably overlooked: the teddy bear fastened to Cable’s belt.

As is often the case, this tells us one of two things; either 20th Century Fox has included a subtle hint to Hope Summers, the surrogate daughter of Nathan who’s hailed as the mutant messiah, or it’s simply a nod to Cable’s harrowing past. Staying true to the former comic book arc would naturally step on the toes of X-Men: Dark Phoenix, given Simon Kinberg’s 2018 sequel is set to unleash the fabled Phoenix Force upon Sophie Turner’s Jean Grey.

MORE FROM THE WEB

Click to zoom

In the more likely scenario, it appears as though this cutesy teddy bear, one that acts as a wonderful juxtaposition to the beefy mutant in the gallery above, is actually a callback to Cable’s origins. Remember, he’s the son of Cyborg, one who was thrust into the far future in order to save him from a deadly virus, so chances are this teddy stands as something of a keepsake for Josh Brolin’s Summers. Either way, so much attention has been paid to the character design that we can’t imagine the bear is there by accident.

On June 1st, the Merc With a Mouth will be joined by a whole bunch of freaks and mutant geeks for Deadpool 2, and we couldn’t be more excited. Filming continues on the streets of Vancouver, so it’s nigh on certain that the prying eyes of the paparazzi will capture Josh Brolin on set over the coming days – similar to how last week found Domino and the Merc dropping down from the sky. Keep it locked on WGTC for more.